


I Believe in Maps That You Drew Sitting Next to Me

by sonnie



Series: You Will Fall Right Through This Roof [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-27 23:43:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonnie/pseuds/sonnie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At seven, Newton Geiszler can't imagine anything cooler than a tyrannosaurus rex.  To say he's excited upon learning they made a whole series of movies (and toys!) about one that breathes fire and marches on Tokyo Bay is an understatement.  </p>
<p>(Vanessa just wants Newt to shut up for a few minutes.  Hint: Godzilla is not the answer.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Believe in Maps That You Drew Sitting Next to Me

“This is my nephew, Newton.”

This is how everyone is presented to a stranger—they get a name and a brief description. It does very little to prepare Vanessa Matthews for that late spring and early summer (or the rest of her life) but it starts out as banal as every other introduction. She isn’t told that Newton Geiszler is a force of nature, that he’s a genius, that he’s a hot mess of bad accidents and poor decisions, that he’ll change her destiny.

(No one tells Newton that she’ll change his, either.)

If there’s anything nineties television has taught her, it’s that this Geiszler kid looks like the biggest nerd she’s ever seen in real life. That’s fine. Vanessa’s rocking the same Coke-bottle glasses and similar offbeat fashion sense, but at least she can hold what passes for a normal grade-school kid conversation. She doesn’t really know much about dinosaurs, so the one thing Newton is apparently well-equipped to discuss is kind of out the window, except it’s not: he continues to talk about tyrannosaurus rex for half an hour. He’s only seven, so it’s a jumbled recitation of trivia that numbs her brain after about five minutes. He’s not really good at reading his audience.

Gunter is supposed to be babysitting them—even though she’s nine and mature for her age, thank you very much—but he disappeared into the basement an hour ago to tinker with the Matthews’ family ailing turntable. Gunter’s an adult, but not really an adult that should be looking after children, since he kind of forgets when he’s supposed to be doing so. Vanessa knows he won’t emerge for hours, if he does at all. It goes without saying that she has to entertain his nephew, which wouldn’t be too hard except he acts like he’s on a constant sugar high. He gets into _everything_ , like a toddler, and he has the attention span of one. 

Having finally silenced him the topic of dinosaurs, she’s really at a loss. She can’t just turn on the television and hope he’ll find something he enjoys—he very likely won’t. Newt has deemed all of her Disney VHS tapes too feminine, so Vanessa tears apart her brother’s room to find something suitable to distract him before Newt breaks a window or blows up the microwave and she gets blamed for letting it happen. He’s already asked if he can dissect her cat (for science!) so she makes sure Dennis stays in the basement with Gunter.

It’s not fair how many toys Nate has; Vanessa doesn’t even like toys but seriously, this is ridiculous. There are some really weird things that must have snuck in during birthdays and Christmas, because her parents aren’t dumb enough to get a six year old boy a Super Soaker. It’s not like he can even use it; he’s barely left the hospital in the past four months.

She’s elbow-deep in Nate’s toy box when her fingers brush something jagged. She yelps and flings the offending object at the door. Considering the spines are sharp enough to puncture a bike tire, she’s not quite sure it’s really safe for kids (and definitely not appropriate for her brother) but remembers that hey, Newt really loves dinosaurs. Maybe he'll be content talking to a piece of plastic for a few hours.

“Look what I found, Newt.”

And it’s kind of cool the way Newt’s pupils dilate. He holds out his hands reverently and accepts her offering, running a finger over every sharp spike down its back.

“I don’t recognize this one.” Newt is eyeing the musculature of the arms suspiciously, and the last thing Vanessa wants is another lecture about anatomy.

“It’s not a real dinosaur. It’s a guy in a costume. It’s from Godzilla.”

Newt blinks, and his eyes are comically large behind his prescription lenses, which are sadly not quite as thick as hers.

“What’s Godzilla?”

“It’s some kind of monster. I think Nate has a tape somewhere.”

An hour and a half later, Vanessa fights to stay awake. She registers Newt squirming next to her before running to the VCR. She gets the feeling he’s only rewinding it so he can watch it again, and ninety minutes later when she wakes up to him jumping off the couch, she’s proven right.

When Vanessa’s parents arrive home, they’re assaulted by Newton’s pleas to keep the video they probably didn’t even know they had. It turns out Gunter actually bought it for Nate, and the German man grins sheepishly at the look of betrayal Newt levels at him because _he_ didn’t get Godzilla toys or tapes for Christmas. The Matthews graciously allow him to keep the tape and the toy, and Newt actually hugs her when he leaves. 

“Thank you, Essie.”

Vanessa narrows her eyes, because hey, is this going to be a thing now? _Essie?_ She feels Godzilla’s spines dig into her back but awkwardly pats his shoulder. He’s a good kid, and so ridiculously pleased over a decades-old movie. It's kind of cute.

She doesn’t think anything could make him happier, at least not until Newt finds the Evangelion tape she borrowed from a friend at school.

**Author's Note:**

> Story title from the Blue Roses song "Does Anyone Love Me Now?"
> 
> And I had a Godzilla toy when I was a kid and it was _dangerous_.


End file.
